1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a hybrid vehicle, and in particular, relates to a hybrid vehicle provided with an electric heater that heats a vehicle compartment by using electrical power supplied by an electrical storage device.
2. Description of Related Art
When an engine is cooled by cooling water, since heat is exchanged between the engine and the cooling water, the temperature of the cooling water rises. Therefore, generally, in an air-conditioner mounted in a hybrid vehicle and the like, air is heated by using the heated cooling water so as to supply heat to a vehicle compartment. To ensure the heating performance of the air-conditioner, the temperature of the cooling water is necessarily high enough. Thus, to raise the temperature of the cooling water, a request for driving the engine is generated.
In Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-255504 (JP 2010-255504 A), an example of such a hybrid vehicle is disclosed. According to a controller of the hybrid vehicle disclosed by Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-255504, even in a case where there is a request for driving the engine to ensure the heating performance, except when there is a request for driving the engine to warm up the engine or a request for driving the engine to output running power, driving of the engine is prohibited. Thereby, since the engine doesn't only drive for ensuring the heating performance, the fuel economy can be improved.